Guardrail arrangement and method of installing

ABSTRACT

A guardrail arrangement, especially for use in connection with buildings under construction to guard the edges of floor openings for safety purposes.

United States Patent Heil et a1. Feb. 18, 1975 GUARDRAIL ARRANGEMENT AND1,498,185 6/1924 01666106 et a1 52/710 x METHOD OF INSTALLING 2,020,06211/1935 Jackson 52/711 X 2,918,150 12/1959 Blum 256/65 UX Inventors!Roland Lee i Wakarusa; Albert 3,156,450 11/1964 Thom..... 256/65 x JohnMroczkiewicz, North Liberty, 3,233,377 2/1966 Blum 52/707 X both of Ind,3,341,998 9/1967 Lucas..... 52/710 X 3,352,084 11/1967 Seerym. 256/65 x1 Asslgneei Miller Steel & Supply Company, 3,544,072 12/1970 Thom 256/59Incorporated, Elkhart, 3,584,839 6 1971 Dickey 256/65 Filed: J 19733,740,022 6/1973 DiGlovanm 256/65 [21] Appl' 320459 PrimaryExaminer-Dennis L. Taylor Attorney, Agent, or Firm.lohn A. Young [52]US. Cl. 256/59, 52/707 [51] Int. Cl E04h 17/18 [58] Field of Search256/59, 65-67; ABSTRACT A guardra11 arrangement, espec1a11y for use inconnec- [56] References Cited tion with buildings under construction toguard the UNITED STATES PATENTS edges of floor openings for safetypurposes. 1,423,241 7/1922 Minshull 52/710 9 Claims, 7 Drawing FiguresGUARDRAIL ARRANGEMENT AND METHOD OF INSTALLING BACKGROUND OF THEINVENTION FIG. 7 is a section view taken on line 7---7 of FIG. 1.

The present invention relates to a guardrail arrangein FIG. 1, is thefloor of a building which is under ment and a method of installing thesame and is particularly concerned with guardrail arrangements adaptedfor use in connection with new buildings being constructed to guardfloor openings and the edges of floors.

In the construction of buildings, it is usually the case that floors areput in place, as by forming the floors of cement poured into suitableforming, and this is done before walls are erected at the periphery ofthe floor and before other structure is installed which encloses thefloor openings.

Further, tools and the like can easily fall off a floor at the edge ofan opening, and this can represent a hazard to other personnel at alower level.

Having the foregoing in mind, a particular object of the presentinvention is the provision of a guardrail arrangement for protecting theedges of a floor in a building under construction which is relativelyinexpensive and which can readily be installed at the floor edge to beprotected and readily removed therefrom.

Another object of the present invention is the provision of a method oferecting a guardrail of the above described nature in which little timeis lost and wherein substantially all parts of the guardrail structureare reusable after being removed from a place of use.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention, whena floor is formed in a building under construction, connecting elementsare fixed therein at the edges of the floor to be guarded. Such edgesmight be the outer periphery of the floor or might be in the form ofelevator or stair well openings or the like formed in the floor.

After the floor is completely formed, and which may be accomplished bypouring concrete in suitable forms, the aforementioned elements becomerigidly fixed in place and are adapted for detachably receiving guardposts in supporting relation thereto and which guard posts upstandvertically at the edges to be guarded. The posts are provided withstraplike brackets through which rails can be inserted so as to form aguard fence which will completely guard the edge which is to be guarded.

The foregoing objects as well as still other objects and advantages ofthe present invention will become more apparent upon reference to thefollowing specification taken in connection with the accompanyingdrawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a somewhat schematic perspective view showing a portion of abuilding floor at an edge thereof and showing a portion of a guardrailaccording to the present invention erected thereon;

FIG. 2 is a detail view of the post of the guardrail structure prior tobeing put in place so as to be fixed to the edge of the floor when thefloor is formed;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view showing a typical post forming a part of theguardrail;

FIG. 4 is a section view indicated by line 4-4 on FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a section view taken on line 55 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a top view of the post looking in the direction of the arrows6-6 of FIG. 2; and.

construction and which has been formed as by pouring concrete inconcrete forms in a conventional manner.

FIG. 3 shows the floor 10 in edge view and illustrates a portion of theform in which the floor is poured. According to the present invention,dovetail members 14 (FIG. 5) are secured to the side of a form (notshown) as by nails and thus become firmly secured to the floor andremain in place in the floor at the edge thereof when the form member 12is removed.

As will be seen in FIG. 1, the dovetail members 14 are distributed alongthe edges of the floor and provide slots 15 which open verticallyupwardly and in a direction facing away from the edge to be protectedwhile being closed at the bottom 17.

Each of the dovetail members 14 forms a floor mounted connecting elementadapted for receiving a cooperating connecting element on a respectiveguard post 16. The connecting elements 19 which are welded at 21 on theguard posts 16 are inserted endwise into the dovetail members from thetop and the posts 16 are thereby supported in substantially uprightvertical position relatively to the floor 10 at the edges of the floorl0.

A typical post 16 is illustrated in FIG; 2 wherein it will be seen tocomprise a length of pipe, say, 1 inch standard pipe and which may beabout 4 feet 4 inches or so in length. At the lower end of the pipe isthe element 19 secured in place as by welding at 21 and comprising, forexample, about an 8 inch length of round rod having a diameter of aboutthirtee'n-sixteenths of an inch. This length of rod forms the connectingelement on the post 16 and is that element which slides endways into aslot in a respective dovetail member 14.

Distributed axially along the posts are straplike bracket members withthe bracket member 20 at the upper end of the post being of a size toreceive a standard 2 by 4. The bracket may be formed of strap materialwhich is about one inch wide and one-fourth inch thick and is welded inplace. About one foot below strap 20 is another bracket 22 formed of thesame-size material and of a size to receive, for example, a l by 6 pieceof lumber.

About a foot below bracket 22 is a further bracket 24 the same size asbracket 22 and so located that the l by 6 rail supported therein will beadjacent the upper surface of the floor.

In FIG. I, the 2 by 4 upper rail is indicated at 26, the 1 by 6 centerrail is indicated at 28 and the l by 6 lower rail is indicated at 30. AThese rails may be held against axial movement in the supportingbrackets as by nails 31 which may be driven through the apertures 32pierced in the bracket.

While the round bar 19 forms a suitable element for engaging the slot inthe respective dovetail member, the pipe 16 may, if desired, have aconnecting element fixed thereto to secure the bar in place and whichsubstantially conforms in shape to the configuration of the slot in thedovetail member.

By the arrangement of the present invention, the guarding of the edgesof a floor of a building under construction can quite easily beaccomplished merely by placing the dovetail members 14 on the inside ofthe forms in which the concrete making up the floor is poured. Themembers 14 are arranged in suitable distributed relation along the edgesto be guarded and which, as mentioned, may be the outer edge of thefloor or edges around openings for elevator shafts or stair wells.

While the guardrail is in place, the edges are adequately guarded,including the guarding of the region immediately above the floor andthrough which tools or other articles might accidentally fall.

It will also be apparent that the posts and the rails can easily bedetached from the dovetail members for further use when the guardrail isno longer needed in a particular location.

The particular dimensions given above are not to be considered limitingin any respect. To conform with certain code requirements, the railingmust be 42 inches high and have supporting posts spaced at not more than8 feet on center, and the code, furthermore,

requires the kick plate or kick rail at the base of the posts as hasbeen described above. The invention, however, is not limited to theparticular dimensions given above or employed in the specification butcan vary widely depending on various circumstances.

Modifications may be made within the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is: 1

l. A safety guardrail, especially for use in buildings underconstruction to guard openings in the floor, comprising post meansadapted to be supported substantially vertically adjacent the edge ofthe opening to be guarded, spaced bracket means on said post meansadapted to receive and support horizontal rails therein, and cooperatingelements of connecting means one disposed in the floor and the otherforming a part of post means respectively and comprising a dove tailsocket formed within the floor and forming a part thereof the flooradjacent'said edge and a coacting means secured to one side of said postmeans and proportioned to be received in a vertical sense within saidsocket by upward and downward vertical movements and proportioned toprevent bending in any vertical plane out of such dove tail socket whichreduces in dimension toward the outer edge of the floor to maintain saidpost means in a substantially vertical position adjacent said edge whileproviding for vertical insertion and removal relatively to said dovetail socket.

2. A safety guardrail according to claim 1 in which said post meanscomprise a plurality of posts in spaced relation, each post havingbracket means thereon to receive and support said rails, and each postand the floor adjacent the edge to be guarded having said cooperatingelements thereon.

3. A safety guardrail according to claim l in which said cooperatingelements comprise vertical slot means in one of said floor adjacent saidedge and the lower part of said post means and bar-like means on theother thereof receivable endwise in said slot means.

4. A safety guardrail according to claim 2 in which said cooperatingelements comprise a slot in the said edge to be guarded for each saidpost and open at the upper end and closed at the lower end, and abar-like member fixed to the lower region of each post in paralleladjacent relation thereto and receivable endwise in the respective slotfrom above.

5. A safety guardrail according to claim 4 in which each said slot isopen on the side facing away from the said edge and widens in adirection away from the open side thereof, each said bar-like memberbeing wider in the lateral direction than the open side of said slot.

6. A safety guardrail according to claim 4 in which each said slot isopen on the side facing away from the said edge and tapers outwardly ina direction away from the open side thereof, said bar-like member beinground in cross section and larger in diameter than the openside of saidslot.

' 7. A safety guardrail according to claim 4 in which each said slot isopen on the side facing away from the said edge and tapers outwardly ina direction away from the open side thereof, said bar-like member beingshaped to conform to the cross sectional shape of said slot.

8. A safety guardrail according to claim 1 in which said bracket meanscomprise, straps formed to an angular configuration and fixed to saidpost means in axially spaced relation and forming with said post meansrectangular spaces to receive said rails.

9. A safety guardrail according to claim 8 in which each angular strapis pierced to receive a fastener element to engage the respective railto hold the rail against endwise movement in the respective strap.

1. A safety guardrail, especially for use in buildings underconstruction to guard openings in the floor, comprising post meansadapted to be supported substantially vertically adjacent the edge ofthe opening to be guarded, spaced bracket means on said post meansadapted to receive and support horizontal rails therein, and cooperatingelements of connecting means one disposed in the floor and the otherforming a part of post means respectively and comprising a dove tailsocket formed within the floor and forming a part thereof the flooradjacent said edge and a coacting means secured to one side of said postmeans and proportioned to be received in a vertical sense within saidsocket by upward and downward vertical movements and proportioned toprevent bending in any vertical plane out of such dove tail socket whichreduces in dimension toward the outer edge of the floor to maintain saidpost means in a substantially vertical position adjacent said edge whileproviding for vertical insertion and removal relatively to said dovetail socket.
 2. A safety guardrail according to claim 1 in which saidpost means comprise a plurality of posts in spaced relation, each posthaving bracket means thereon to receive and support said rails, and eachpost and the floor adjacent the edge to be guarded having saidcooperating elements thereon.
 3. A safety guardrail according to claim 1in which said cooperating elements comprise vertical slot means in oneof said floor adjacent said edge and the lower part of said post meansand bar-like means on the other thereof receivable endwise in said slotmeans.
 4. A safety guardrail according to claim 2 in which saidcooperating elements comprise a slot in the said edge to be guarded foreach said post and open at the upper end and closed at the lower end,and a bar-like member fixed to the lower region of each post in paralleladjacent relation thereto and receivable endwise in the respective slotfrom above.
 5. A safety guardrail according to claim 4 in which eachsaid slot is open on the side facing away from the said edge and widensin a direction away from the open side thereof, each said bar-likemember being wider in the lateral direction than the open side of saidslot.
 6. A safety guardrail according to claim 4 in which each said slotis open on the side facing away from the said edge and tapers outwardlyin a direction away from the open side thereof, said bar-like memberbeing round in cross section and larger in diameter than the open sideof said slot.
 7. A safety guardrail according to claim 4 in which eachsaid slot is open on the side facing away from the said edge and tapersoutwardly in a direction away from the open side thereof, said bar-likemember being shaped to conform to the cross sectional shape of saidslot.
 8. A safety guardrail according to claim 1 in which said bracketmeans comprise straps formed to an angular configuration and fixed tosaid post means in axially spaced relation and forming with said postmeans rectangular spaces to receive said rails.
 9. A safety guardrailaccording to claim 8 in which each angular strap is pierced to receive afastener element to engage the respective rail to hold the rail againstendwise movement in the respective strap.